My First Fourth of July in Texas
Back in Missouri it was tradition that someone would come over to our house in the country and shoot fireworks off. Though some years it was just the five of us, most often somebody would arrive for the day. This not only was our first year in Texas for the 4th but also the first year we didn’t do fireworks and have people over. We met up with my in-laws, drove to my sister-in-laws brother’s home, and spent the day there. It was a little bittersweet not having family over to our home and ending the day with crackle and booms.
I thought I would get homesick driving to the country. I thought it would spark memories of my old home town, and even Missouri in general, but it didn’t. It surprised me but I’ve come to realize that, apart from the traffic, I enjoy being a burbs girl now. I like being close to all the action. It’s weird. I thought all the time we were in the country that I was a country girl at heart and couldn’t be happy any where else. I’ve come to realize that I can adapt and as long as I have my family, I’m happy.
We met my father and mother-in-law and drove for breakfast at IHOP before making the two hour trek to meet my brother and sister-in-law. I ate a delicious meal of raspberry and white chocolate pancakes, eggs, hash browns, and bacon. Dash stole my bacon. He also swiped some of grandmas fruit. Little monkey. The drive to Mt. Pleasant was rather uneventful and there really wasn’t much to look at along the way. It was a typical highway drive.
After meeting up with everyone and settling into the converted barn, we grabbed the four wheeler and took the kids fishing. Per their request. They’d been most excited about the fishing. After Adam fussed with the four wheeler a bit (he was a little unsure of himself) we bumpily made our way to the pond down the road. It was a cute little pond stocked with crappy and bass with a nice little dock to fish from.
(oh how their expressions make me laugh)
(Sweet capone getting acquainted with my kids)
(The crew headed to the pond for fishing. That’s Rick back there, he’s my sister-in-laws brother.)
(He’s not a country boy. Driving this beast of a off roader was a little out of his comfort zone in the beginning but he got the hang of it.)
(Part of our fishing trip Amanda and Donna (in-laws) joined us. As did good ‘ol Capone.)
(They were sooo serious about their fishing and hoped so hard for a fish or two.)
(He’s the only one who managed to get any bites. In fact, he caught two fish – only one stayed on the hook though.)
(Look at those cute little fishermen!)
I debated on whether to include this photo. All I see is a fat dumpy person. I still can’t accept how much weight I’ve gained through the course of being sick. My thyroid and adrenal glands are throwing everything off in my body but it doesn’t matter why I’ve gained weight – because all I see, and others might see, is a fat girl whose lost a ton of hair, too. But I was there and I think it’s important that I document that I was there – my kids will want to see pictures of me on our family trips. So I just had to get over how I feel about these pictures and include them. However, I purposely didn’t include them on Facebook for this reason. Ugh – baby steps.
(Probably my favorite picture of the day. Nothing sweeter than a daddy and his little boy.)
(Dash’s first fish was a doozy. Nice big bass)
(The other two boys were wishing they could have caught a fish. So much so that Nicky teared up while we left. But this isn’t unusual, he’s very sensitive. Gets that from my side of the family. Both my brother and I were sensitive little lads.)
After fishing we all headed back up to the barn to get changed into bathing suits for the pool. The pool was a salt water pool. I’ve never been in one of those before. Nor have I been to the ocean, so that was an experience for me and the kids. It felt different and tasted different. You know, not that we were drinking it, but when you swim you just get water in your mouth. It was a perfect way to end our fishing trip. Cooled us down. And who doesn’t love to swim on a hot day?
(Water guns every where made for a lot of water in the face.)
(I love giving my children the experiences they enjoy – swimming is one of their favorites)
(Even my mother-in-law is a water lover. I think she and my FIL go swimming just about as much as we do.)
I was happy that my bother-in-law, Alex, offered to snap our photo but when I saw it all I saw was a fat girl with a big nose. I really need to accept who I am right now. I am what I am and I need to say to myself, hey, you’re overweight right now but you won’t be forever. Just embrace yourself. Your body is going through so much with a daily battle of Lyme disease and hormonal imbalances. It really is hard to see your body change so much though.
(Little Dash being super careful in the deep pool. He’s used to a zero entry pool so this was a little scary for him and for mom.)
(The weather pulled us out of the pool and into the barn. It was an absolute downpour outside.)
(The sun and heat got us all a little wiped out.)
(Crazy how much Nick and Zane look alike in their profiles! I just noticed that in this picture. I knew they had similar features but, wow.)
(Nick was a little upset because he felt none of the other kids wanted to play with him. And Dash got pinched by another child and cried and cried. But they all really did have a good time and got along. I think all the kids just got a little tired and cranky and emotional from that.)
After a full day in the heat and sun I ended up with a migraine without any Excedrin to relieve it so we left a little earlier than we planned. Zane fell asleep on the way home. We stopped in town at Arby’s for dinner and had a delicious orange creme shake. So good! I beat the kids to bed, falling asleep at 8pm. I’m a lightweight!
We had a wonderful time and were thankful for the invite and hospitality. It was a different experience from our usual Fourth, and I did kinda miss hosting the fun at our house, but this is our new reality in Texas and I’m embracing it. (No fireworks allowed where we live.)